Eternal Glorious Fountain Ministry (EGFM)
Programme: Believers' Convention 2022 (Day 2 Evening Session)
Date: Monday, 8th August 2022
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (John 1:1). The Word is Logos and He is concealed. The Trinity existed as mysteries in eternity past. Thus, creation cannot see or learn them. “No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” (John 1:18). To see God is not by visions but by knowledge.
God cannot be seen if the Godhead remain as mysteries. Their existence as a mystery is the reason for the question “who is like God?”. It was a question of great importance such that the archangel Michael had to bear it as a name. The “only begotten” is a high status in sonship. Logos had to become the Son for the purpose of inheritance. He then became the only begotten Son, the living Son and the beloved Son. The highest of these is the only begotten Son. In eternity to come, He is the Eternal Son.
The reason why John the Baptist was so great is because he had an understanding of Him (Matt. 11:11). “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world…” (John 1:29). Although everyone could see Jesus, they did not know Him including His disciples. To discern the Eternal Son, one must have sight, just as John the Baptist saw Jesus and proclaimed Him as “the Lamb of God”. The apostle Peter had the same experience when he, by the Spirit, called Jesus “Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matt. 16:16).
Jesus is the Lamb of God. Just as shepherds are tender with their lambs, so is God with His Lamb. The title “Lamb of God” is not referring to an animal but is pointing to a reality in God. “Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; [36] And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, Behold the Lamb of God!” (John 1:35-36). The Lamb of God in John 1:35 is not the same Lamb as the one in John 1:29; it is a continuous revelation of Him.
John was in wonder as he looked upon the Lamb. The Lamb at the first revelation walked to take away sins. Then he later saw the revelation of the Lamb, not as the One that takes away sin but as the One that leads (John 1:29, 36).
He is the One we should follow. We must receive the revelation of the Lamb, as that is what would make us follow. We need to follow on to know (Hos. 6:3). We have known in a measure but we need to keep following to know in full. The Lamb of God first deals with sin and then leads after. The disciples of John caught a revelation of the Lamb as John described Him and then followed after Him.
“Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where dwellest thou?” (John 1:38). The disciples were spontaneous in their conversation with the Lamb, such that they asked where the Lamb dwells. The Lamb dwells in the bosom of the Father and secrets are in the bosom. The Lamb has the prerogative to show us who God is. The question “who is like God?” is captured in the Lamb. This question can be rendered again as “who is configured like God?”.
There is a way God is configured. We see Him as many things but we have not really seen or known Him. Many of our descriptions of God and praises to Him are still limited. We praise God because of the limited works of Him we know, but that is not the real work.
What God wrought in the Lamb is the real work of God. The work God did in the Lamb is a complete work, as God used all His workmanship to wrought Himself in the Lamb. The Lamb is a masterpiece. God would not raise any other standard, for He desires to replicate the Lamb in us. What He did in the Lamb cannot be done again. God will always refer us to the Lamb because He is the One that carries the work. The instruction of God to us is to behold the Lamb.
We call God the God of new things, which is encapsulated in the Lamb. God is ever new, He is never old. God is the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:8). Every step of the Lamb is to unveil the person of God. In Revelation, Jesus was not just called the Word, He was referred to more as the Lamb.
In the book of Revelation, the question, “who is like God?” was sung and answered (Rev. 15:3). The song of the Lamb is the answer. The Lamb is mysterious. One will think the dragon should make war with the lion but He would rather make war with the Lamb (Rev. 17:14). Lucifer did not quite understand the person of God because of the nature of the Lamb in Him.
The Lamb is meek and it is wise not to challenge the meek, for the forces of the earth respond to the meek (Matt. 5:5). The earth reacted to the dishonour done to Moses by Korah and his company; Moses did not respond for himself, as the earth responded on his behalf (Num. 16:32). The meek man is not designed to fight for himself, for there are forces of the earth that submit to the meek.
What makes Jesus the Lamb of God are the substances of meekness and lowliness. Eternal Life is a realm of meekness that man would not ordinarily want to go because of its lowliness. As such, we need to be sedated with everlasting life to come into Eternal Life. The border line to cross from everlasting life to Eternal Life is death. A man that would cross over from everlasting life to Eternal Life will have to cease and wait until God decides to give him Eternal Life.
We can now understand when the Son says He cannot do anything of Himself (John 5:30). A man without everlasting life will not receive Eternal Life because of its high demands.
“And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.” (Rev. 21:23). The Lamb is the civilization of the city. As such, no one will be part of the city without becoming a Lamb. Goats would not be found there; they will not agree to die, as they must be dragged. Lambs, on the other hand, are helpless and tender. Man is not like the Lamb, for we do not yet have the nature of the Lamb.
“These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth. These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.” (Rev. 14:4). The Lamb has His path which is peculiar to Him. Anyone who follows the Lamb would be converted from every odd nature to becoming the Lamb. If we can behold the Lamb and follow Him, we would be converted and changed into the nature of the Lamb.
We need to be strong in meekness to follow the Lamb. Human strength cannot enable us follow the Lamb. There is a peculiar life in the Lamb, which is the light of men (John 1:4). These are not just mere men, rather, they are men who have risen. We must be interested in the life that is in the Lamb. That life is the very interpretation of who God is in His true essence. We must not let the Lamb go because we need to get Him to get God. God poured everything of Himself into the Lamb. As such, we must keep following the Lamb as we see Him.
“And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with him an hundred forty and four thousand, having his Father's name written in their foreheads.” (Rev. 14:1). The Lamb would give us instructions on how to live and one who does not follow well would drop. The 144,000 found grace to follow consistently.
The Lamb leads us so that the name of the Father would be written in our foreheads. The name connotes the nature of the Father. We must follow the Lamb against ourselves. As we climb the mountain, we are moving against our configuration and everything we have ever known. When we finish the course of climbing against all odds, we would stand with the Lamb.
The 144,000 is the city of the Lamb and everyone there are lambs. No other nature would be found in this city. As we follow the Lamb, things inside of us will die. Flesh will die! No one follows the Lamb and still has flesh. As we carry out the laws of meekness which is an everlasting law, both the dominant and recessive genes of flesh would be destroyed. As we follow the Lamb, flesh would continue to die.
We are called to become Lambs. Michael is a Lamb (Jude 1:9) and he has a dimension of meekness which is lower to the Lamb but which we must learn from now. Our Lord Jesus excelled in meekness. As such, He is configured with the meekness of Eternal Life. We must stay on course till we embody all meekness of the Lamb.
Meekness is the key; it is the access. In this season, we are moving from the city of grass to the city of stone (Rev. 21:19).
Blessings!
Summary:
1.(John 1:1). The Word is Logos and He is concealed. The Trinity existed as mysteries in eternity past. Thus, creation cannot see or learn them. To see God is not by visions but by knowledge (John. 1:18).
2.The reason why John the Baptist was so great is because he had an understanding of Him (Matt. 11:11). Although everyone could see Jesus, they did not know Him including His disciples.
3.To discern the Eternal Son, one must have sight, just as John the Baptist saw Jesus and proclaimed Him as “the Lamb of God” (John 1:29). The apostle Peter had the same experience when he, by the Spirit, called Jesus “Christ, the Son of the Living God” (Matt. 16:16).
4.John was in wonder as he looked upon the Lamb. The Lamb at the first revelation walked to take away sins. Then he later saw the revelation of the Lamb, not as the One that takes away sin but as the One that leads (John 1:29, 36).
5.The Lamb is the One we should follow. We must receive the revelation of the Lamb, as that is what would make us follow. We need to follow on to know (Hos. 6:3). We have known in a measure but we need to keep following to know in full.
6.The Lamb of God first deals with sin and then leads after. The disciples of John caught a revelation of the Lamb as John described Him and then followed after Him.
7.What God wrought in the Lamb is the real work of God. The work God did in the Lamb is a complete work, as God used all His workmanship to wrought Himself in the Lamb. The Lamb is a masterpiece. God would not raise any other standard, for He desires to replicate the Lamb in us.
8.In the book of Revelation, the question, “who is like God?” was sung and answered (Rev. 15:3). The song of the Lamb is the answer. The Lamb is mysterious.
9.What makes Jesus the Lamb of God are the substances of meekness and lowliness. Eternal Life is a realm of meekness that man would not ordinarily want to go because of its lowliness. As such, we need to be sedated with everlasting life to come into Eternal Life.
10.(Rev. 14:4). The Lamb has His path which is peculiar to Him. Anyone who follows the Lamb would be converted from every odd nature to becoming the Lamb. If we can behold the Lamb and follow Him, we would be converted and changed into the nature of the Lamb.
11. We need to be strong in meekness to follow the Lamb. The Lamb would give us instructions on how to live and those who do not follow well would drop. The 144,000 found grace to follow consistently (Rev. 14:1).
12.Our Lord Jesus excelled in meekness. As such, He is configured with the meekness of Eternal Life. We must stay on course till we embody all meekness of the Lamb. Meekness is the key; it is the access.
Timilehin Abolade - 2 years ago